A Roadmap to Better Decision Making

Today on FARMCON Conversations, Kevin and I are joined by FARMCON partner Jake Espenmiller, President and CEO of Conterra Ag Capital. Jake sits in a unique seat where he can see what is happening across farm balance sheets, operating credit and institutional capital, and our conversation quickly moved to what happens when an operation can look extremely wealthy on paper ...

One of the more important agricultural technology disputes of the past few years was just settled, and I think the implications extend well beyond the two companies involved. Corteva and Inari reached a confidential agreement resolving a lawsuit Corteva filed in 2023 over Inari's use of Corteva seed material and intellectual property. As part of the settlement, Inari agreed to ...

When diesel gets tight, attention turns quickly to any fuel that can move freight, harvest crops, power equipment, and keep supply chains running without changing engines. That is why more countries are reconsidering biodiesel, particularly renewable diesel, as oil-supply disruptions drive up fuel costs and expose the risks of relying on imported petroleum. While renewable diesel cannot fully replace the ...

Congress has made more progress on the 2026 Farm Bill than in the previous three years, but the legislation has a ways to go before becoming law. The House has passed its bill, and the Senate Agriculture Committee has reported its version, leaving Senate floor action and a potentially difficult House-Senate negotiation before a final measure can reach President Trump ...

This week’s conversation centered on how the edge is changing. Kevin talks about why information alone matters less in an AI-driven world, where he believes advantage comes from now, how higher rates are changing capital allocation, and the frameworks he uses to evaluate businesses, investments and opportunities. 1:15 — What FARMCON is really trying to build - Kevin explains why ...

Recent cyberattacks against U.S. water and wastewater systems carry a warning well beyond municipal treatment plants. The same kind of internet-connected industrial equipment used to control water pumps, valves, chemical processes, alarms and monitoring systems also sits behind an expanding range of agricultural infrastructure—from irrigation pivots and well pumps to grain dryers, feed systems and poultry-house ventilation. Federal agencies have ...

One of the hardest things about introducing a new crop into American agriculture has very little to do with whether somebody can actually grow it. Farmers are pretty good at figuring out how to grow things. The harder question is usually what happens after harvest. Who buys it? Where does it go? How far does it have to be hauled? ...

Many trucking industry experts see trucking heading toward a possible cash-flow and capacity crisis. Record diesel prices are inflating carriers’ daily cash needs, pressuring already-thin margins, and raising the risk that smaller fleets and owner-operators will park trucks or leave the market before freight rates fully adjust. For trucking carriers, diesel is a large and immediate variable expense. Larger fleets ...

“It's not bringing in the new ideas that's so hard. It's getting rid of the old ones.” —John Maynard Keynes Today on FARMCON Conversations, we're joined by longtime friend and FARMCON partner Ken Packard of StoneX.Ken has spent more than 30 years in commodity futures and agricultural risk management, and our conversation quickly moved to how producers manage the entire ...

Soil is often called the world’s most under-appreciated natural asset. It sustains global food production, holds water, hosts vast biological communities, and stores vast amounts of carbon. Yet, despite its critical role, agricultural soil remains one of the most fragmented and poorly understood resources in modern farming. Enter the Varda Foundation, a non-profit organization building digital infrastructure designed to unify ...